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Gentianopsis crinita (Froelich) Ma
Fringed Gentian
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Gentian Family, GENTIANACEAE
LEGAL STATUS:
State: THREATENED
Federal: None
SYNONYMY:
Gentiana crinita Froelich
Gentianella crinita (Froelich) G. Don
RANGE: Mountains in northeastern Georgia, adjacent
North Carolina, and Virginia, north to Maine, west to
Manitoba and Iowa; rare in New York, Ohio, Indiana, and
Illinois. Recorded from two counties in Georgia (see map).
ILLUSTRATION: Flowering stem, upper portion, 1x.
Source: original drawing by Vicky Holifield.
DESCRIPTION: Biennial herb, the plant requiring parts
of two growing seasons to complete its life cycle.
First-year plants appear only as basal rosettes, 3-6 cm in
diameter. Second-year plants are 1-9 dm tall,
single-stemmed, sometimes with many axillary branches.
Leaves are opposite, clasping the stem, stalkless (sessile),
ovate to lanceolate, 1-5 cm long, and 2-17 mm wide. The
flowers are on long (2-12 cm), naked stalks, and are large,
with four, iridescent blue, finely fringed petals, each
3.5-6.0 cm long. The outermost flower parts are two pairs
of green sepals, strongly winged and flared on the basal
margins, the outer pair much larger than the inner. Unlike
our other large-flowered, blue gentians, pleats (folded
From: Patrick, Allison and Krakow (1995), Protected Plants of Georgia, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
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Gentianopsis crinita (Froelich) Ma
appendages) between the petals are lacking, and the
flowers open and close daily. The fruit is a capsule,
broadest near the middle and tapered gradually to both
ends, 3-4 cm long, with many minute seeds, each
roughened by tiny projections. Flowering period: late
September to early November; fruiting period: November
to January. Best search time: during peak of flowering on
bright, sunny days, since the showy flowers open only in
direct sun.
HABITAT: Found in shallow, near-neutral soils of damp,
sunny meadows underlain by ultramafic (magnesium rich)
rock, such as, serpentine or soapstone; often spreading and
persisting in nearby disturbed grassy areas along roads and
powerlines.
SPECIAL IDENTIFICATION FEATURES: The
fringed gentian is Georgia's only gentian with fringed,
spreading petals, and 4-parted, non-pleated flowers.
MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: Control
encroachment of woody vegetation through prescribed
burning or mowing. Timber removal, if desired, may be
beneficial to this light-loving plant. Of horticultural
interest: protect from removal by irresponsible persons.
REMARKS: Shelton Stewart made the first Georgia
collection of this showy species in 1964. Since then it has
been found at a handful of locations underlain by rock high
in magnesium, within a small area of Towns and Union
Counties, near Brasstown Bald. It is sometimes abundant
in the northern states but is exceedingly rare in the
Southeast. Gentianopsis crinita is a rare species at the
periphery of its range in Georgia.
SELECTED REFERENCES
Fernald, M. L. 1970. Gray's Manual of Botany. Eighth Edition. D.
Van Nostrand Company, New York. 1632 pp.
Iltis, H. H. 1965. The genus Gentianopsis (Gentianaceae): transfers
and phytogeographic comments. Sida 2:129-154.
Ludwig, J. C. 1991. Fringed gentian. In: Terwilliger, K.
(coordinator), Virginia's Endangered Species. McDonald and
Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Virginia. 672 pp.
Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles, and C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina
Press, Chapel Hill. 1183 pp.
Rickett, H. W. 1966. Wild Flowers of the United States. Volume 2.
The Southeastern States. McGraw-Hill, New York. 688 pp.
Robertson, H. J. 1992. A life history approach to the study of plant
species rarity: Gentianopsis crinita in New York State.
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, New
York. [chapter 6, Summary and Conclusions, final draft edition,
only portion seen.]
From: Patrick, Allison and Krakow (1995), Protected Plants of Georgia, Georgia Department of Natural Resources